Arc 3: Unknown Discovery - Chapter 12
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Cross-over from various games, books, anime, manga, and movies.
The familiar characters you see here belong to their respected authors and owners.
"Speech"
Arc 3: Unknown Discovery - Chapter 12
Amidst the tangled undergrowth and towering trees lurks a creature of unparalleled ferocity and primal beauty: the Shadowvine Serpent.
The Shadowvine Serpent is a colossal reptilian predator, its sinuous body coiled with lithe muscles rippling beneath obsidian scales that glow with an otherworldly iridescence. Like molten orbs of emerald fire, its eyes pierce the darkness with an insatiable hunger. At full length, it stretches over thirty feet, its long, serpentine form weaving effortlessly through the dense foliage of its jungle domain.
A master of stealth and ambush, the Shadowvine Serpent moves through the underbrush with an eerie silence, its sleek form almost invisible against the mottled shadows of the forest floor. It possesses razor-sharp fangs capable of injecting a powerful venom that causes paralysis in its victims, allowing the serpent to consume its prey while using vines sprouting from its body to tear its victims apart and prevent them from fighting back.
Despite its fearsome reputation, the Shadowvine Serpent is not without its own predators. Giant birds of prey with wingspans that blot out the sun soar through the canopy, ever vigilant for the chance to snatch an unwary serpent from the treetops. Yet the Shadowvine Serpent is an apex predator in its own right, a symbol of the untamed wilderness where survival depends on strength, cunning, and an intimate understanding of the primal forces that shape the natural world.
The Shadowvine Serpent found its next prey-
"Hey, Jin! I found this strange looking snake! Do you think we can eat it?" Ruby stomped on its head, crushing its skull and instantly ending its life. Then, bring its corpse to me, where I'm making BBQ outdoors.
"I can make it edible." I replied, flipping one steak and another onto a plate, which I handed Ruby to take. "But are you really going to eat that thing?"
"I'm curious. So yeah."
Ruby grins as she hands me the dead snake-like thing and quickly uses Boundary Manipulation to make it edible. Then I put it on the grill with the other strange-looking creatures the other girls had killed.
Afterwards, Ruby joins the others at the table for a quick meal before going on another fun hunt.
"Hey, Jin. It has been about a week since we came into this world. We haven't found any natives yet, except for the wild animals we killed for food, which I still question: Why are we eating them when you can easily bring us any other kind of food?" Weiss wipes her mouth with a napkin before taking another bite of her salad with some diced grilled meat belonging to some random animals.
"Because Shu wanted to take the lead in leading us to civilization. No one wanted to deny her, so here we are." I see a slab of grilled meat, use Ten to protect my hands and grab it, then throw it aside where it lands on the wooden table filled with other kinds of meat dishes.
"Hey, are you trying to say that I'm leading us in a circle to prolong our time in this creepy forest instead of meeting any native humans?" Shu questions me while holding two drumsticks in her hands.
"Are you?" I ask back, staring Shu in the eyes.
"I am." Shu grins and then continues eating her drumsticks.
"I shouldn't be surprised at this point." Weiss groans as she begins to pick at her salad in annoyance. "So you can get us out of this forest? Thanks to Jin, I know we can easily sleep in a high-tech, quality tent or even a building, but being in this forest for a week is getting annoying."
"Yeah, I can get us out of this forest in like a few minutes. And why would you be annoyed being in a forest for a week? Is it because of the bugs?" Shu points at a nearby bug, which is actually massive in size, almost like the side of a forklift.
"Gross." Weiss watched as Ruby stabbed the thing twice, killing it instantly, before dragging it aside to the summing circle she had made this morning. "The bugs are one of the factors, but I don't know why. I just want to be around the natives."
"To kill." Shu input.
"Yes, to kill... Wait! No!" Weiss looks at Shu in horror, who just giggles at her. "Why would you think I want to find civilization to kill people?"
"Because it is in our nature to want to kill." Shu's eyes glow briefly. "Look at Ruby over there. She has been on a killing spree since we came into this world."
"That's just Ruby being Ruby. She's been doing that ever since Jin explained that it's best for her to focus on sacrificing and summoning countless things." Weiss huffs, then sighs. "Well, I guess... lately, I want to hurt others. Is it really our nature as part of the Eldritch pantheon to want to cause so much death and harm to others?"
"It is." Shiki spoke up after being silent for a while. "Just be glad that you haven't fallen too deep into your new instincts because your whole existence is changing into that of an Eldritch entity."
"Jin, look what I got from my last sacrifice!" Ruby presents me with a pair of rounded heart-shaped fruits with connected stems that resemble a pair of cherries. The fruits are red and purple with pink heart patterns that have swirls in them. The top of the stem also forms a heart with swirls.
"...That's a Devil Fruit." I stare in disbelief that someone would give Ruby this for a random sacrifice. "And if I remember correctly, this is Mero Mero no Mi, translated as Love-Love Fruit. A Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, it allows a series of attacks that use the emotions of love, lust, or adoration to turn opponents into stone." I tap the Devil Fruit and use Boundary Manipulation to remove the standard Devil Fruit's weaknesses and any other bad side effects that come with it.
"Really?" Ruby looks at the Devil Fruit in her hand before taking a bite, then finishing the whole thing in a few seconds. "Tastes like chocolate-covered cherries."
"Ah, right. I might as well give you the knowledge of all the existing canon techniques from the original character who ate that Devil Fruit." I tap Ruby on the forehead and use Invasion to inject all my knowledge of the Mero Mero no Mi.
"Ow." Ruby blinked, then looked around and decided on a nearby tree. "Let's try this. Pistol Kiss!" She gracefully blows a kiss at the tree, aiming with her index finger. The air around her lips shimmers with a mysterious charm, creating a heart-shaped bullet that flies toward the tree, petrifying it. "Uh, I don't think I like that a tree finds me attractive, Jin." She looks a bit disgusted when she sees the petrified tree.
"Great. Now I have to worry about trees watching us 24/7 until we leave this forest." Weiss groans. "Can we leave this forest now, Shu? Or do you want us to stay around a few more days?"
"Sure, we can go after we eat." Shu shrugs. "Oh yeah. Hey, Jin!"
"Yeah?" I look in Shu's direction as I rub Ruby's head to comfort her.
"My vacation time is almost over, so someone else will replace me later." Shu explained, then looked over to Nyarla, who was playing with a Rubix cube. "Aunt Nyarla, will you miss me?"
Nyarla throws the solved Rubix cube behind her back and hugs Shu.
"Of course, Shu! You're my favorite niece!" Nyarla smiles.
"You mean, current favorite..." Shu looks at Nyarla with a wry smile.
"Yup." Nyarla continues to smile.
"I still can't believe I'm here, hanging out with you, Nyarla. Instead of fighting you to death." Shiki said calmly as she took a sip of her Earl Grey tea.
"I can say the same, Shiki." Nyarla releases Shu from the embrace and begins to look at Shiki with a serious look, completely different from her usual expression.
Silence descends upon everyone, making it tense for everyone. Even the sounds of the animals have fallen silent, knowing that if they make a sound now, they might die. Even I don't move a muscle because either of them could easily kill me without any effort on their part.
Suddenly, a bell rang throughout the entire area. Everyone looked to see where the sound was coming from, only to find out that it was Shu who was making the sound. More specifically, it was coming from her pocket.
"Sorry, I have to take this call." Shu said sheepishly as she pulled out a green crystal and placed it near her right ear. "Hello? Huh? Oh... Yes. Yes. I understand. Okay, I'll let them know. Yes. Thank you." She put away the green crystal. "Uh, so my vacation has been cut short due to an unexpected incident at work. So I'll have to leave now."
Then, out of nowhere, a green vortex appeared under Shu's feet, sending a terrible chill down my entire body. I could even feel Ruby's body shaking because my hand was still on her head. No doubt this is much worse for her and Weiss, as I don't think they've ever felt anything like this since they joined the Eldritch pantheon.
Shu waves to everyone as she disappears into the green vortex; however, instead of disappearing. It changed from green to dark red, and out came Yor. In her signature outfit and she is covered in blood.
"Hello, everyone." Yor smiles, then notices Shiki. The smile is wiped away immediately as she stares at Shiki coldly. "Shiki. I see the Heaven pantheon sent you, huh?"
"Well, who else would they send after what your group did to Shouko?" Shiki replied blankly. The cold looks she got from Yor did not bother her. "If anything, the Heaven pantheon underestimated Jin here. That's why they sent me here instead of all the others."
"Ho?" Yor narrows her eyes. "And what did they expect from sending you here? Are you planning on killing Jin or something?"
The aura emanating from her being is palpable, permeating the air with a disturbing energy that seems to warp reality itself. It manifests as an ever-shifting miasma of darkness, swirling and undulating in mesmerizing patterns that twist and contort with a disturbing fluidity. At times, the aura coalesces into sinister shapes and forms, only to dissolve into nothingness moments later, leaving a lingering sense of foreboding.
Ah, shit. Crazy voices. Are we going to see a final boss fight?
"No. To help him stabilize further by eliminating anything that could harm his mental state." Shiki said simply with a dull expression on her face. Completely unimpressed by Yor's aura.
Yor's horrible, eerie aura disappeared when Shiki said her last word.
"Better than fucking, Jin. That's for sure." Nyarla mutters under her breath.
"Anyway, Yor! Nice to see you-" I was cut off when Yor appeared in front of me and kissed me deeply.
This lasted for a few seconds.
"So this must be Ruby. Everyone is talking about you. So desirable for many reasons." Yor stares at Ruby, making her extra nervous. "Here is a welcome gift from me." She pulls out a vial from behind her back and hands it to Ruby. "This unique healing fluid can even restore the soul to full and put them back at peak condition."
Yor appears next to Weiss, almost giving Weiss a heart attack.
"Huh, you look very beautiful, as rumors have it. Anyway, here is my welcome gift for you." Yor takes out another vial and hands it to Weiss. "This can create a new body for you in case the one you're using is somehow destroyed beyond normal repair."
Well... That's something.